On the American Film Institute's (AFI) list of the top 100 comedy films of the century, it is interesting that the top two are stories of men dressed as women: "Some Like It Hot" (1959) and "My Fair Lady" (Tootsie, 1982).
Wilder is the film director most acclaimed by Lubitsch, but only the humorous side is affected. The other side of Wilder's films is dark and gloomy. Most of his works are the result of a combination of these two aspects. "Passionate," however, is a comedy through and through, without the slightest tinge of gloom. In Wilder's words, at that time, he had already won the award and was soft-hearted, so he wanted to get the lost audience back. He believes that the most important responsibility of the director is to "not let them feel bored".
The film is based on the Broadway musical and takes place during Prohibition in 1929. The film begins with a gangster massacre, a real gang fight that took place in Chicago on February 14, 1929. Shortly after the film begins, two working male musicians are involved in this fight. In order to avoid the underworld killer, they have to join a women's band and leave Chicago to perform with them. The two male leads are played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
The process of their cross-dressing is not explained in the film. Finding the right bra can be difficult, according to Curtis, who is a 36-D. After getting dressed up, Wilder asked them to go to the women's bathroom to see if they could dress up. Two men went, fortunately, did not attract attention. Raymond thought they were successful, but Curtis thought it was because they were so ugly that no one wanted to give them a second look. So, with heavier makeup and fuller breasts. They went to the women's bathroom again. As a result, he was recognized as soon as he entered the door, so he still used his first makeup.
In 1959, when the film was filmed, it had already entered the era of color films, but Wilder still chose black and white films because color films were easier to see after women disguised themselves as men. Comparing the "My Fair Lady" in the 1980s, it is obvious that the latter's female appearance is not very convincing.
The centerpiece of the film is, of course, Marilyn Monroe's Sugar, an innocent and sexy character. It should have been handy, but due to Monroe's poor mental and physical condition at the time, the filming of the film became difficult. She couldn't remember the lines, and the phrase "Where's the bourbon?" was filmed more than 80 times. She also often said, "I don't want to act anymore," and left the set, and all the crew members had to wait for her.
During the filming, Monroe was pregnant and then miscarried. According to Norman Miller's biography of Monroe, it was Wilder who kept reshooting because of Monroe's frequent mistakes, which led to her miscarriage.
Wilder, who has never liked to complain, also accidentally said in an interview that "I don't want to cooperate with Monroe in the future". For this reason, Monroe's husband protested and listed Wilder in Monroe's unwillingness to cooperate. On the blacklist of co-directors.
The story itself was a very daring adventure at the time, as it included not only cross-dressing, but also homosexual innuendo and a lot of sexually provocative content. The mere use of the notorious plot man massacre in American history as a condiment has angered some people. It is said that when Wilder first brought up the idea to the producers, the producers dismissed it unceremoniously: "Are you crazy? Do you mean to put real guns and blood in a comedy? ? Will be a complete failure."
But it turned out to be a complete success. Wilder successfully disguised the sex comedy as a film about crime and greed. Film critic Roger Ebert argued that "Wilder puts his delightful cynicism into the film so that not a single second is wasted on sentimentality, and everyone is driven by basic Darwinian desires. ." So crime and escape stories became the background, and the love story surrounding Monroe became the focus of the film.
The scene where Monroe sings was filmed by Wilder as a striptease where nudity is superfluous. She was wearing a see-through suit that was glued to her body, and the tulle covered the top half of her breasts. The circular spotlight grows and shrinks precisely as her body shakes up and down. She sang "I Want to Be Your Lover". Sweet and intoxicating.
The scene on the cruise ship also contained bold sexual overtones. Curtis lied that he was indifferent, the two were lying on the sofa, Monroe hugged him and kissed, and his shiny leather shoes were lifted up not far behind Monroe... After kissing for a while, Curtis couldn't control it. Stayed, admitting that his illness was improving, "I have a strange feeling in my toes, like someone is slow-roasting them on a small fire." Monroe replied "Let's add more wood to the fire. "
Jokes abound between the constant cross-dressing and gender inversion of the two male protagonists. At the end, the two couples fled, and Lemon had to confess "I'm a man" to the rich man, and the rich man replied: " Well, Nobody's perfect ". In the conservative '50s, homosexuality was very bold and edgy. It is said that this sentence was originally just casually said by Lemon, and everyone thought it was very cola, so they added it.
This famous saying was later borrowed or paid homage many times . For example, in "Independence Day", Albert said "I am not Jewish" and Julius said "No one is perfect." This sentence also became Wilder's epitaph .
"Passionate" is perhaps Wilder's most lighthearted and wonderful film, and in most of his films, characters struggle to disguise themselves in a maelstrom of desire, fame, and money. In this film, Wilder gave them the most generous sympathy. Fake millionaires can also win the hearts and minds of beautiful women, while fake women have hooked up with the real golden tortoise-in-law. The moment the two unveiled their masks, they both won the understanding of each other.
After the film was completed, it was banned in Kansas for the reason that it was disgusting for men to wear women's clothes. Still, it was universally praised, with The New York Times calling it " weird, clever, and hilarious from start to finish, like a string of firecrackers, with a continual lively spark. " Roger Ebert Considered the film " a masterpiece of maddening comedy, unrivaled in its inspiration and craftsmanship, making it an enduring gem of cinematic history. "
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